


hey now, you're a frat star

by raindropcakes



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Drinking, M/M, Mentioned SEVENTEEN Ensemble, Minor Hwang Minhyun/Kim Jonghyun | JR, Minor Kang Daniel/Kim Jaehwan, a lot of beer is consumed in this, because frat au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-29 02:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17195078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raindropcakes/pseuds/raindropcakes
Summary: If there's any time to realize you're in love with your best friend, it's definitely when he's in the middle of crushing a keg stand.(Also known as the one where Seongwu and Daniel are dumb frat bros in love.)





	hey now, you're a frat star

**Author's Note:**

> I was going to finish this by Ong's birthday and then by Halloween and then I accepted that I would be lucky to post this before the next season of Produce 101, BUT IT'S DONE... _(:3」∠)_
> 
> Special thanks to S for editing this and always being there to bounce ideas because without you, this fic wouldn't make sense. Thank you also to my entire tlist for putting up with me whining about writing this more than actually, you know, writing it.
> 
> And of course, thank you to Wanna One for a great one and a half years and to you for reading. <3 Here's to 2019 being a great year for all of us! :)

Homecoming Friday, senior year.

It’s early enough in the night that only brothers are mingling around the frat house, but just the right time for the alums who came back to start goading seniors into doing keg stands for their last Homecoming before the Real World.

Minki’s still wiping his mouth when Sungwoon calls out, “Yo, Ong, you’re up next.”

Seongwu pretends to look around, even though he’s the only Ong in the house and probably the school and maybe even the state.

He _really_ doesn’t want to do this. He hates keg stands because he has literally zero upper body strength and would really rather not consume copious amounts of whatever shitty beer they usually have on tap. There is no glory about this—Seongwu’s never lasted more than three seconds during a keg stand before he starts coughing. Last time, he accidentally spit up beer all over Minhyun’s boat shoes, and he’s not sure his friend has ever really forgiven him for that (but also, why would you ever wear shoes you care about to a frat party?).

Given than he’s been drinking since his 10 AM class let out, Seongwu also can’t guarantee only beer will come out if he starts coughing in the middle of a keg stand right now.

Overall, bad idea. 0/10, would not recommend. No go. _Please._

He’s about to try and worm his way out of this when the rest of his brothers start chanting, “Seongwu, Seongwu, Seongwu—”

“I’ll do it,” declares Daniel suddenly from right next to him. He probably sensed Seongwu’s swirling pit of dread. “Seongwu’s sick.”

“I am?” Seongwu asks. Someone snorts loudly behind them.

“You are,” Daniel answers with a definitive nod. They make eye contact before bursting into giggles not two seconds later.

“Dude, Daniel, you can’t swoop in like that. You’re not even a senior!” Sungwoon complains, though without much heat, snapping Seongwu and Daniel’s attention back to the rest of the room and out of their own little moment.

“Come _on_ , hyung, I’ve been practicing!” Seongwu isn’t entirely sure Daniel’s joking either.

“Okay, fine, go for it.” Sungwoon motions to the keg and Daniel’s placing his hands on the keg handles before Seongwu has the chance to tell him that he doesn’t _really_ have to defend his honor like this (though it’s greatly appreciated).

They get Dongho and Sanggyun to hold Daniel’s legs up, and then Hyunbin to help Sanggyun when it’s clear Daniel is starting to slip toward Sanggyun’s side—it’s a little more effort to hold him up, with how broad he is.

In the handstand position, Daniel’s muscle tee slips down his chest, and the combination of his abs and toned arms on display elicits cheers and wolf whistles from the crowd that may or may not have originated from Jaehwan.

Seongwu licks his lips. Maybe he does need more to drink.

Sungwoon puts the keg tap into Daniel’s mouth and asks, “You ready, dude?”

Daniel nods, and Sungwoon starts counting out the seconds as the brothers around them loudly join in.

Fifteen seconds pass, a respectable time for any upstanding frat boy.

Thirty, and Daniel’s Adam’s apple is still bobbing rapidly as he continues to chug the incoming beer. A freshman pledge with thick-rimmed, crooked glasses gasps in awe and asks how Daniel’s breathing through all of this.

Forty-five seconds, and a hum of excitement fills the room. They know what’s about to happen, if it happens—and then at fifty-five seconds, Daniel surpasses the house keg stand record set by Jinyoung “The Asiansoul” Park, Alpha Beta Omega president of 1996.

The chanting of numbers grows louder and louder, reaching seventy-five seconds before Daniel pulls back and lets the keg tap fall from his mouth. His brothers cheer for an obnoxious amount of time as they let Daniel down, chanting “GOD DANIEL, GOD DANIEL.”

As soon as his feet touch the ground, Daniel bounds toward Seongwu without hesitation, practically yelling, “Did you see that?!”

Seongwu surges forward to meet his friend halfway in a tight hug. Daniel’s grip is firm, one hand bracing the small of Seongwu’s back and the other slung across his shoulders.

Seongwu pulls back, ready to congratulate his bro for a job well done, a record shattered, when—

“ _Dude_ , you—”

—somehow the words get stuck in Seongwu’s throat. Daniel’s smile is impossibly radiant, splitting across his face, and his eyes are scrunched up into crescents like this night in a dirty frat basement is the happiest moment of his life, like Seongwu is the only person he’d want to share this moment with. Under the halo of shitty fluorescent lights, Daniel practically glows, almost otherworldly, like he was sent here to bless Seongwu’s night and maybe the rest of his life.

Seongwu kind of really wants to kiss him.

Oh.

Wait, what?

 

If there’s one thing Seongwu’s embarrassed to admit, it’s that he’s a bit of a hopeless romantic.

It had come in quite handy with his high school girlfriends, when cute cheesy poems scribbled on loose-leaf would easily get him a date and a kiss, and clandestine hand-holding during class was a thrilling little secret, even when his friends would tease him about it at lunch.

It did mean, though, that Seongwu had gone through relationships pretty quickly, waiting for The One™, that _click_ and mythical spark of love. He’d cut his losses early when it was evident that whoever he was dating didn’t give him butterflies within a week or make his heart feel like a series of fireworks going off on the Fourth of July.

Had part of Seongwu been disappointed when he graduated without a high school sweetheart that he was going to marry right after college? Maybe, but surely it would be easier to find love in college, Seongwu had assured himself, when people were more mature and closer to who they were meant to be. Closer to knowing what they really wanted.

Admittedly, rushing a frat, suddenly frequenting Vineyard Vines, and becoming that flirty fuckboy mothers tend to warn their children about probably delayed the whole Falling in Love thing just a little. High School Seongwu would have been scandalized to find his current self trading in sonnets from AP Gov for phone numbers he’ll never text back, and secret hand-holding for low-commitment weekend hookups.

But Seongwu is hot and college is short. The One™ can wait for when Seongwu is a real adult. High School Seongwu will understand.

That said, it doesn’t mean Seongwu’s heart has fundamentally changed. Despite it all, there’s a small part of him that’s still holding out hope for his one true love to appear in his last year of higher education.

He just never thought it’d come to him in a frat basement in the form of his best friend, Daniel Kang.

 

Despite the ruckus Daniel stirred up after breaking the keg stand record and being dubbed “The Master Keg”, the rest of the night had moved on like any other Friday, with just (slightly) more drinking and (definitely) more people than usual because of Homecoming.

Seongwu had lost Daniel to his dance group at around midnight when they insisted he join them for late night munchies with alums.

“Don’t wait up for me, darling.” Daniel had winked. “I might be home late tonight.”

Seongwu had let out a short laugh before blowing an over-dramatic kiss. One of the dance group alums—Taehyun, probably, who had driven up with Sungwoon—rolled his eyes while Daniel broke down in giggles.

“Stop flirting,” probably-Taehyun had said. Daniel had just laughed and apologized quickly, without sounding sorry at all, before slinging an arm around Taehyun’s shoulders as they had followed the rest of the dance group out of the frat house.

If Seongwu’s face had been warm, he’d blame in on the beer he just had.

Seongwu wouldn’t let his sudden revelation of wanting to kiss his best friend change anything. He was fine, pretty fucking chill some would even say.

He’s really not trying to drop hints that he might be in love with his best friend. He needs time to process it, contemplate it on his own before he tries to talk through it with others.

“Minhyun, I think I like Daniel.”

Nailed it.

They’re sitting on the couch in the chapter room. Seongwu’s phone tells them it’s quickly approaching 3 AM. The only other person in the room is the Taiwanese pledge, who passed out about twenty minutes ago after deciding that Seongwu’s thigh was a good pillow and is now sleeping with his legs dangling off the armrest. Drunk Seongwu’s too nice to wake him up.

Minhyun sighs.

“I’m really not drunk enough for this.”

“You don’t even drink though?” Seongwu isn’t entirely sure. It’s that part of the night where reality isn’t real anymore.

“I might start if we’re finally acknowledging that you’re into Daniel.”

“What do you mean by finally—okay, _anyway_ —” Seongwu pauses for dramatic effect. Minhyun frowns. “I, Seongwu Ong, have...caught feelings.”

There’s a moment of silence. The pledge in Seongwu’s lap lets out a sound that a cross between a snore and a sneeze. It’s adorable, but Seongwu is woozy, palms sweaty (arms spaghetti) because Minhyun isn’t saying anything.

But there it is. He’s said it. It’s out in the open.

“Maybe we should get Jonghyun,” Minhyun finally offers.

“Minhyun, we’re not dragging your boyfriend into every conversation when you can’t process feelings.”

“He’s not my—”

“Also, he’s definitely asleep. He has that alumni breakfast thing with President Ahn tomorrow morning,” Seongwu continues.

Minhyun’s hand twitches.

Seongwu stares back at Minhyun, who relents and says, “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

 

Seongwu wakes up a few hours later, crammed on the couch with the pledge who was sleeping on him last night ( _Guanlin_ , his almost-sober mind finally supplies him. It’s only, like, the second half of September; he has more time to remember the pledges’ names eventually).

Seongwu remembers talking to Minhyun, but not about what, and must have passed out somewhere in the middle of it. It’s not uncommon—he and Minhyun have a lot of late night conversations where at least one of them is sleep-deprived. Minhyun has since left, probably having abandoned Seongwu on the couch while he sought out his bed on the top floor—Seongwu doesn’t blame him. The vice president’s room is pretty dope.

Seongwu’s bladder screams at him, so he carefully removes himself from the couch without waking Guanlin, though given the disgruntled noise the younger boy makes, he’s not sure he was very successful. The room spins for a hot second when Seongwu stands up as he registers just how much he drank last night. Then, he wobbles to the bathroom down the hall to answer the call of nature.

He stumbles just as gracefully all the way back to his room on the second floor after washing his hands. Thankfully, everyone else is probably still dead to the world (if Kenta passed out in the shower with an inflatable cactus was any indication), so no one is there to witness his hungover struggle.

Daniel’s passed out on his stomach and snoring on his bed, only in his boxers and the muscle tee he was wearing last night. Some time in his sleep, he must have kicked off his comforter and decided to cling to one of his various peach-themed plushies for warmth. Usually, Seongwu would think “What a dweeb” but now the more predominant thought is “What an adorable motherfucker” as he picks up Daniel’s blanket and drapes it over the younger.

It’s then that Seongwu remembers waxing poetically about his best friend to Minhyun last night in the chapter room and, _holy shit, Ong, you idiot._ At least only Guanlin was there, and the kid was definitely dead to the world.

This whole falling in love shit is stressful, Seongwu thinks as he runs his hands down his face. Goddammit.

Seongwu strips off his jeans and flops onto his bed. He struggles for a few seconds to plug in his phone, motor skills not fully recovered from last night activities. It’s still at a solid 13% when he finally gets it in.

His phone reads 7:45 AM, which means he can still pass out for another five hours and still have friends to eat lunch with later. He only has 24 unread messages across his different messaging apps. It could be worse.

> **optimushwang** _5:23 AM_  
>  went to bed bc you passed out on me  
>  please drink some water  
>  also don’t overthink the daniel thing  
>  i’m sure it’ll be fine

Seongwu chuckles because of course he’d send that. At least he’s trying.

The majority of the remaining messages come from the ABO house group chat, mostly memes and a few dicks drawn on sleeping faces, a handful of group photos with alums in various states of debauchery.

All in all, wholesome and predictable activity.

There’s one text from last night that he doesn’t expect though:

> **Daehwi David Lee** _11:39 PM_  
>  so  
>  you and daniel???  
>  :)

Seongwu pales and looks over at his roommate sleeping peacefully across the room. What did drunk him do? Was he waxing poetically to more than just Minhyun last night? Why is a _pledge_ texting him?

> **Seongwu Ong** _7:49 AM_  
>  what about me and daniel?  
>  daehwi answer me  
>  i’m shaking what does this mean
> 
> **Daehwi David Lee** _7:53 AM_  
>  you’re up early hyung o:  
>  lets get lunch! ^^

 

In retrospect, Seongwu could have probably been more chill. A lot more chill.

Having _no_ chill is Seongwu finding himself in the dining hall with a freshman who might know too much.

It’s fine, Seongwu tells himself. Seongwu likes Daehwi—he met him at the first KSA meeting of the school year where Daehwi ruthlessly hip-checked Woojin Park to win musical chairs, and then again at ABO’s first rush event where he showed off house treasurer and secretary Youngmin Lim’s embarrassing baby pictures because apparently they’re family friends and Youngmin was too busy doing something responsible to defend himself.

The kid’s fearless. Seongwu likes that.

This lunch probably has to happen at some point during Daehwi’s pledge term if he wants to become a full brother anyway, since all pledges need to get the older brothers to sign their pledge books.

For the last rush class, Seongwu and Daniel gave a joint mission for their signatures: dress up as Spongebob and Patrick with another pledge you don’t know, reenact the chocolate selling scene in one of the dorm buildings, and send a video to the house. Most other brothers are lazy and usually ask for a meal or coffee in the name of fraternal bonding.

Seongwu never confirmed with Daniel if they were still doing the Spongebob thing this year, so he guesses he’ll be lazy and sign a book for Daehwi’s silence.

Seongwu spots Daehwi’s notebook immediately when he sits down after grabbing a slice of pizza and chicken nuggets.

“How foolish of me to think you’d want to eat with me without some ulterior motive,” Seongwu jokes in lieu of a greeting. Daehwi just smiles innocently and slides the book forward with a purple gel pen. Seongwu quickly signs it and scrawls out his house name below it. He flips through the rest of Daehwi’s book. “Oh, you’re almost done. You even got Woodam’s in here and I thought he depledged.”

“I like to be efficient,” Daehwi answers with a grin, taking his book back from Seongwu and quietly slipping it into his backpack. Seongwu isn’t sure if he should be intimidated or not. “So. You and Daniel.”

Seongwu jerks, quietly looking around to see if anyone he knows is sitting around them. Thankfully not, but he lowers his voice and tells Daehwi, “Not so loud. I don’t even know what you’re going to expose me for.”

Daehwi claps his hand in excitement. “Oh my god, so you guys actually _are_ a thing?”

Seongwu hopes his face isn’t as flushed as it feels. “What? No—we are not a _thing_. He’s my best friend.”

Daehwi pouts, disappointed. “Yeah, but you were looking at him like he’s Ryan Gosling in The Notebook and you’re Rachel McAdams when he isn’t paying attention.” Daehwi pauses to sip his apple juice. “Also, you guys were literally all over each other last night?”

Seongwu pretends not to know exactly what Daehwi’s talking about because he’s watched The Notebook more than once and tries instead to remember if he did anything out of the ordinary last night. Admittedly, his memory is quite hazy, but he can’t come up with anything.

“I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Daehwi laughs as if Seongwu is lying to him and then stops when he realizes that Seongwu looks lost. “Wait, you’re serious.”

“Yes?”

“You guys literally have no sense of personal space but, like, only with each other.” Daehwi pauses. “Do you need to hug your beer pong partner after _every_ sunk cup?”

Okay, when you put it that way, it’s a little weird.

“That’s just how we are?” Seongwu feels his palms sweat.

“I’m not sure that’s helping your case, hyung,” Daehwi points out.

Fuck, he’s right.

“What I’m saying is just that we’re bros, dude. Daniel’s naturally super affectionate. He’s like that with everyone.” A beat. “I’m not special.”

Daehwi tilts his head to the side as if to contemplate Seongwu from a different angle.

“If you say so, hyung.”

 

Seongwu wakes up in a cold sweat at 5:36 AM on a Monday morning, suddenly remembering in a dream that he has a paper due for his Cold War Politics class at 11:59 PM. He doesn’t even know what the prompt is.

“FUCK.”

From across the room, Daniel startles up from his sleep and shouts, half-awake, “Mom, I didn’t do it!”

“Huh?” Seongwu says.

“What.”

They look at each other, and start cracking up a second later.

“Sorry for waking you up,” Seongwu offers as he slides out of bed. “I just remembered I have a history paper due at midnight.”

“You’re going to write it now?” Daniel asks, his voice rough with sleep. “Dude, it’s too early to be alive.”

“I’m not gonna finish it if I don’t, bro. I don’t even know what we’re covering in the class.”

“Yikes.”

“Yeah, yikes is being generous.” Seongwu slips on a black sweatshirt that was resting on his desk chair. It’s definitely too big for him, but he doesn’t think too much of it as he shoves on his Vans and swings his backpack over his shoulder.

“Hey, isn’t that mine?” Seongwu hears Daniel say and turns around.

Daniel’s painted a muted blue by what little light filters through the window shades, the sun only just peeking over the horizon, making Seongwu’s early morning trip to the library just that bit worse. He’s staring at Seongwu with a cu—confused look on his face, and his hair’s a mess, sticking up in various directions at the back of his head—Seongwu just wants to smooth it back down.

“Hmm?” Seongwu hums.

Daniel chews on his lip.

“Nevermind. Just text me where you are later. I’ll try to make sure you’re alive after my 10 AM.”

“My hero.”

Daniel flops back onto his pillow, and Seongwu embarks on his Walk of Academic Shame down Frat Row, thankful for the warmth of his hoodie now that autumn is in full swing.

True to his word, Daniel shows up around 11:30 AM with two coffees. One probably has three sugars and two creamers in one for himself while the other is an Americano for Seongwu, not that Seongwu likes his coffee black but they both know it won’t help him focus if it isn’t.

“How’s it going?” Daniel asks as he settles into the seat across from him that Seongwu saved. All Seongwu does is turn his laptop to showcase his blank document before he points to the freshly printed readings he hadn’t done over the past month. “Wow, that good?”

“My life is over. I’m never going to graduate.”

“Just stay an extra year, you could graduate with me.” Daniel’s got on one of those winning smiles again that triggers an ache in Seongwu’s chest, a queasy but not entirely unpleasant feeling in his stomach that he finally understands. It’s a smile Seongwu seriously contemplates failing a semester for, even if just for a second.

“Pay my tuition for next year, and I’ll think about it,” Seongwu tosses back and Daniel just giggles, his large frame shaking as he tries not to be too loud. A few other students around them still glare at them anyway.

“You’re worth it.” Oh no, the butterflies again. “Otherwise, they’ll probably make me room with Jaehwan and his room’s more of a disaster than ours.” Nevermind.

“Not sure if I should be flattered or offended on Jaehwan’s behalf.”

Daniel just sheepishly grins at him and finally pulls out his laptop.

The smile drops quickly after he looks at his email.

“ _Shit,_ ” Daniel hisses out quietly. Seongwu peers up curiously from the reading on the Cuban Missile Crisis in front of him. “I have a problem set due for my Public Economics class at midnight.”

“Rip,” Seongwu offers helpfully.

“ _My_ life is over.” Daniel’s head lands with a dull thunk on the table before he gets up and starts furiously texting. “Gonna ask if Jonghyun has it.”

Jonghyun would never let Daniel copy his homework, but he _would_ patiently guide him through the entire problem set despite 1) having his own work, 2) not even being an Econ major, and 3) not being a paid tutor (bless his heart), so it’s no surprise when Jonghyun’s walking to their table with purpose and Minhyun in tow no more than twenty minutes later.

“Sorry, I’m late,” Jonghyun says a little breathlessly, not that he actually has anything to apologize for. He pulls out his notes immediately and plops himself down next to Daniel, explanations of externalities at the tip of his tongue and sketches of supply-and-demand curves already at his fingertips. Minhyun sits down quietly next to Seongwu, ready to get out his own work, when something about Seongwu catches his eye and causes him to give the other a once-over.

“Since when did you own a Supreme hoodie?” Minhyun asks, question unheard to the two across the table. Seongwu furrows his brow at him.

“I don’t?”

“Then whose hoodie are you wearing?” Minhyun gives Seongwu’s chest a pointed look. Seongwu rolls his eye and looks down.

Wait. This definitely isn’t his.

 _“Hey, isn’t that mine?”_ Seongwu remembers Daniel asking that morning, and how he had kind of registered the sweatshirt being too big to be something he would have purposely purchased for himself.

Now that he thinks of it, it smells like Daniel’s cologne, too, but their shit gets mixed up enough that he hadn’t bothered to notice.

“Oops.”

 

> **daaaaaaamn daniel** _1:39 PM_  
>  yo dude  
>  wanna get dinner with jisung hyung tonight?  
>  hes treating
> 
> **ongcheongie** _1:40 PM_  
>  lol u sure its okay?  
>  dont want to intrude
> 
> **daaaaaaamn daniel** _1:42 PM_  
>  yeah dude its chill  
>  ur a part of me now  
>  jisung hyung will probably be confused if ur not there
> 
> **ongcheongie** _1:45 PM_  
>  oh well  
>  free food?????  
>  lets get it

Daniel’s Jisung hyung is a childhood friend and grad student studying Psychology. He’s basically the older brother Daniel never had, used to taking care of him. During Daniel’s pledge term, Jisung even picked him up when he got too drunk to go back to his own dorm.

Jisung is great, honestly, too kind, too good for this world.

Naturally, Jisung has a huge soft spot for Daniel, has had one ever since he saved Daniel from playground bullies back when he was in first grade and Jisung was in sixth. Jisung still treats Daniel to dinner now and again despite his abysmal grad student finances and doesn’t say anything when Seongwu tags along.

(Seongwu used to slip Jisung a $20 bill for his share of the bill and then some because his mother raised him right, but Jisung would return it, so they’ve settled on Seongwu bringing Jisung back a six-pack of grapefruit soju every time he visits his family in New York.)

Jisung’s already got a booth at the (questionable but only) ramen place on campus when Daniel and Seongwu roll through.

Seongwu settles into the seat across from Jisung when Daniel asks, “Can someone just order me the tonkotsu? I gotta piss.”

He throws his coat on the seat next to Seongwu and zips toward the bathroom. Jisung and Seongwu break out laughing.

“I didn’t realize he had to pee that badly,” Seongwu explains.

“Was probably too excited by the prospect of food to realize,” Jisung shoots back, and Seongwu snorts because he’s not wrong. “Do you know what you want?” Seongwu nods and Jisung quickly flags down the waiter to put in their order.

Daniel’s taking longer than expected, and while Seongwu and Jisung aren’t exactly awkward with each other, they’ve more often than not relied on Daniel to smooth over the conversation.

“How’s senior year going?” Jisung asks as Seongwu takes a long sip of water.

“Fine, I guess,” Seongwu offers once he swallows the water down. “Just trying to graduate.” Jisung hums thoughtfully.

“Job hunting?” Jisung asks.

“Accepted my return offer from my summer internship, so I don’t need to.” Seongwu throws up two thumbs up.

“Nice, so you’re going to be in New York then?”

“Yeah. My mom’s happy I’m going to be close to home.” Seongwu shifts in his seat. What is taking Daniel so long? Did he end up taking a shit? Seongwu hates talking about his future.

They lapse into a brief silence before Jisung sighs and lowers his voice. “It’s probably not my place to say this, but I think Daniel’s pretty anxious about you graduating.”

“Yeah, he keeps joking I should flunk so he doesn’t have to room with Jaehwan. I’d be pretty scared, too.”

“No, but actually.”

Seongwu furrows his brow. “What?”

“You two have been attached at the hip since he pledged ABO freshman year. It’s not out of the question that he’d be afraid of his best friend leaving.”

Jisung doesn’t follow up and lets Seongwu sit in silence for a few moments.

“I’m going to be, like, max a five hour bus ride away,” he finally says. “I’m not going to fall off the face of the earth.” Seongwu tries to laugh to lighten the mood, but his stomach knots just a little.

“I know, just…” Jisung frowns as he contemplates his next words. “Just be kind to him. You know as well as I do he’d never let anyone worry about him.”

“Of course.” Seongwu doesn’t know what else to say.

“Anyway, do you want a beer?” Jisung says, a bit louder, and Seongwu feels rather than sees Daniel return from the bathroom as he slips into the booth next to him. “I could use a beer.”

“Hyung, it’s Tuesday. You don’t want to be hungover for your lecture tomorrow,” Daniel teases, though the whole table knows he’ll end up drinking the most.

“It’s only one beer!”

“You say that as if it makes a difference.”

“Yah—I’m not that old yet!” Jisung tries. Daniel breaks out into giggles, and Jisung shortly joins, not taking any serious offense to Daniel’s playful jabs.

Seongwu looks over at Daniel, barely registering the conversation happening around him. He watches the way his broad shoulders shake and how he curls into himself as he tries not to be too loud, how his eyes disappear into his smile and how he instinctively covers his mouth with his hand as he laughs.

He’s cute, Seongwu finds himself thinking. The thought seems to come more frequently these days.

Wanting to kiss that smile probably isn’t being kind to his best friend, or himself quite frankly, though.

He’s fine like this, really. Best friends is enough—more than enough, when it’s Daniel, who doles out affection and laughter and happiness like he’s getting paid for it. Seongwu has less than seven months left of senior year and he doesn’t need to risk losing his favorite part of college because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.

Daniel deserves more than that.

Maybe Seongwu stares for a beat too long without laughing, because Daniel turns back to look at him as his laughter dies down and he tilts his head slightly to the side as if to ask if Seongwu is okay. Before either of them can say anything, though, the waiter comes back with their food.

Seongwu catches Jisung’s eye over their bowls of noodles, and Jisung smiles back at him before diverting his attention to his noodles.

 

Seongwu passes by the living room on his way to his room and see Minki and Seungcheol Choi (not related) surrounded by several handles of liquor, two-liter bottles of soda, some lemonade mix, and five Gatorade coolers. From his vantage point, it seems like each of the coolers has a concoction of differing colors—bright pink, green, blue, yellow, and orange.

It may be Thirsty Thursday, but this seems a little overboard.

“What’s all this for?” Seongwu asks from his spot by the stairs.

“Dance party tomorrow night, Ong,” Minki answers. “Get ready.”

Seongwu eyes the coolers warily before walking upstairs—Minki’s punches are notorious for rendering even the heaviest drinkers incoherently wasted. They taste like Kool-Aid and probably have a higher percentage of alcohol than any of the liquors going into it, which isn’t even physically possible but who knows when it comes to Minki.

Not that Seongwu remembers any of his hesitation the next night after someone behind the basement bar hands him a cup of the pink punch, one cup of pink turning into two cups of the blue. Two cups of the blue turns into a drinking game at the bar involving Woojin and Jihoon Park (also not related) and two sorority girls, then at some point Seongwu’s on the dance floor before he can really register that he moved away from the drinks to begin with.

The DJ they have is some junior Dongho knows who uses Woozi or something as his DJ name, not that Seongwu was really paying attention. Seongwu’s just happy because the bass is so strong he can basically feel it pulsing through his bones as he sways mindlessly, trying to find a friend. He sees two heads poke out of the crowd and immediately identify them as Minhyun and Daniel before weaving through the crowd toward them. Once he reaches them, he sees Minhyun and Jonghyun engaging in a very weird dance battle that might be more just flailing limbs, which is weird because Jonghyun actually in a dance group and Minhyun...doesn’t voluntarily flail around in public.

At one point, they stop their weird mating ritual, and even in the darkness of the basement dance floor, Seongwu can see the flush on Minhyun’s face as he lets out his staccato laugh and drapes himself over Jonghyun’s back. Under normal circumstances, Jonghyun would bristle under so much physical contact, but now he’s turned back, smiling at Minhyun, eyes bright.

Daniel throws an arm around Seongwu’s shoulders, startling him, and yells over the music, “Minhyun didn’t realize how strong the punch was and drained two cups of that shit within ten minutes.”

Seongwu barks out a laugh, throwing his head back. “Oh my _god_ , he usually gets drunk after, like, one sip too.” Daniel starts giggling with him, and Seongwu still has half a mind to wonder how much Daniel has had to drink, too.

The DJ puts on some Chainsmokers song that Seongwu wouldn’t normally admit to loving, but in this moment, Seongwu thinks this song is the best in the world and he lets Daniel know just that by yelling, “Dude, this song is my _jam._.”

Daniel continues to laugh as Seongwu slips out from under Daniel’s arm and starts popping in the limited room they’re afforded, even though the song isn’t well-suited for popping at all. A group of pledges standing near them eye Seongwu with terrified fascination. Seongwu doesn’t dance as often as he’d like, but he likes to think that he’s still not half-bad despite whatever reactions he’s garnering from the pledges.

The popping transitions to Seongwu lipsyncing dramatically instead, and Daniel’s still laughing, and honestly it’s great because Seongwu loves to make people laugh and Daniel apparently loves laughing and this isn’t the first time he’s made this observation but clearly they’re fucking made for each other. Seongwu extends his arms out at Daniel who starts lipsyncing along with him, though it’s clear that he doesn’t know the words nearly as well as Seongwu.

The set transitions to something a bit slower, bass strong and deep, rumbling through his body. It’s definitely a song designed for horny freshmen to get an excuse to grind up on each other. Seongwu calms down a little, swaying again aimlessly to the beat. Daniel wraps his arm around Seongwu’s shoulders and sways along with him, side to side. Instinctually, Seongwu rests his arm on Daniel’s waist because having his arm squashed between the two of them would be uncomfortable.

Yeah, that’s definitely why.

They stay like this for the duration of the song, not really saying anything. About halfway in, Seongwu realizes that he no longer knows where Minhyun and Jonghyun are but assumes they’re probably fine, maybe even passed out already knowing Minhyun’s absolute lack of alcohol tolerance.

Their current position is probably a little weird and definitely not very bro-like, but Seongwu is content staying like this, almost but not really wrapped up in Daniel, staring to the front at the DJ. Daniel radiates heat, which should be uncomfortable in the crowded frat-basement-turned-dance-floor, but Seongwu wants to bury himself in it and the subtle scent of Daniel’s cologne.

Seongwu turns his head to look at Daniel, who is already looking back at him, eyes hazy but dark. For a moment, Seongwu’s breath hitches, not expecting Daniel’s heavy gaze on his face, dropping to Seongwu’s Adam’s apple when he swallows down some air and settling back on his mouth.

When did Daniel get so close?

“Yo, I need water,” Seongwu hears himself say, breaking whatever trance they were in. Daniel’s eyes slowly focus back as he blinks, lips parting slightly into a small O. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”

Seongwu slowly extricates himself from Daniel’s arm but instinctually grabs onto Daniel’s hand to pull him through the crowd. Maybe it’s to make sure they don’t lose each other in the crowd, but maybe it’s mainly because Seongwu likes the way Daniel’s hand feels in his—the calluses formed from years of b-boying against his palm, long fingers interlaced with his.

 

The next morning, Seongwu wakes up in the chapter room to the sun shining directly on his face, sprawled across the couch with the hangover the size of Mars. Surprisingly, most of his memory of last night is intact.

He really needs to stop doing this. His room is on the second floor, but clearly Drunk Seongwu values immediacy over comfort any night. His neck, however, would really appreciate if Drunk Seongwu would, like, Not.

Seongwu blearily pats around him and finds his phone. His eyes don’t really register anything besides the fact that he has a text from Daehwi, which can never be a good thing.

Somewhere next to him on the floor, Daniel groans as he also begins to stir. Funny that they both ended up choosing very uncomfortable alternatives to their beds just upstairs, but at least Seongwu made it to the couch. Too bad Daniel’s way too broad for them to both fit.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Seongwu manages to get out, voice rough and mouth dry. He turns on his side to peek over the edge of the couch to look down at Daniel, arm dangling off the side.

“Ugh, fuck me,” Daniel groans. Seongwu can relate. “What time is it?” Daniel asks, turning over on his side as well to look at Seongwu.

Seongwu blinks down at his phone. “Uh, like, 8:30 AM.”

“Fuck, why are we even awake?” Daniel mindlessly swats at Seongwu’s hand, his fingertips just grazing against the back of Seongwu’s palm, as if Seongwu is the reason for why they’re hungover in the chapter room right now. Seongwu huffs out a small laugh.

“Maybe this is our bodies telling us to go to our actual beds.”

Daniel hums noncommittally, eyelids drooping as it becomes obvious that he intends on going back to sleep again. Classic.

Seongwu checks a few texts, ignoring Daehwi’s when he realizes it has a photo attachment. When he glances down to the floor, Seongwu finds Daniel has fallen back asleep, as expected, hand resting just below where Seongwu’s hangs.

He clicks on Daehwi’s message.

It’s tame, just a picture of Minhyun embarrassing himself last night, Daniel’s arm loosely over Seongwu’s shoulders in the background. The only message that accompanies the picture is the smirking emoji. Seongwu promptly texts back thanking Daehwi for this good material on Minhyun and next time to share in the ABO group chat.

There’s a knot is Seongwu’s stomach that loosens, though he’s not sure why he still feels some sense of disappointment as he locks his phone. Was he expecting to see anything else? Something more?

Daniel lets out a snore.

Well, might as well follow suit and sleep some more, Seongwu thinks, and lets his eyes close as well. He’ll figure it out.

 

When Seongwu rushed his freshman fall, he spent most weekends thinking he’d be a better person the weekend after and actually be productive, instead of partying and dicking around. At some point, this sense of obligation for repentance eventually wore off as Seongwu embraced his identity as a trashy fratboy.

Which is all to say, the Friday after the house dance party, Seongwu is Most Definitely not sober at 11 PM.

At least he’s being kind of wholesome and playing a round of flip cup, seniors vs. pledges. The pledges lose quite gracefully, though Seonho, a freshman that Minhyun babysat in elementary school and currently Guanlin’s roommate, proved himself MVP by being the fastest out of anyone to drain his cup.

(“It’s because he literally consumes everything,” Guanlin had said to the group. “Endless pit of a stomach.” He looks haunted. Seongwu doesn’t doubt him.)

“Hey, we should probably get some water soon,” Youngmin nudges Seongwu after a round of slap cup where Seongwu got gloriously dicked over by Sanggyun repeatedly slapping his cup off the table and making Seongwu drink beer. Too much beer. Seongwu feels so full.

Water sounds good right about now, though. Sounds like a good life decision, which he hasn’t made in a while, so he nods and blindly follows Youngmin to the kitchen.

Youngmin fills up a mug from the tap and makes Seongwu finish the full thing before filling it up again and drinking it himself. The water feels refreshing as it makes it way down his throat. It’s a nice break from the Natty Lite they’ve been playing the drinking games with, even if the water does little to clear up Seongwu’s buzz.

“Hey, let’s g—” Youngmin starts, only to get cut off by his phone ringing which can never be a good thing. Youngmin barely gets a greeting in when someone who sounds suspiciously like Daehwi starts yelling about something. Youngmin looks more exasperated than worried when he tells Seongwu, “Yo, you go back first.”

“Is everything okay?” Seongwu has half a mind to ask.

“Yeah, just Daehwi and his mom finding pictures of him near an open beer can or something equally dumb. I’m going in for damage control.”

Seongwu just nods, more confused than he was a minute ago, and watches as Youngmin sighs and walks in the general direction of the front door. With no other course of action, Seongwu himself leaves the kitchen and turns a corner to wander down the hallway back to the games.

It occurs to Seongwu right then, that very moment, in the depths of his drunken haze, that he’s never really asked if Daniel was into guys, doesn’t _actually_ know for sure that Daniel’s entirely straight. Sure, maybe Daniel strips a little too much in front of his frat brothers, and Seongwu’s still not entirely sure what to make of that moment during last week’s dance party. To be fair, though, in the time that he’s known him, Daniel has only had one girlfriend (the one from home that broke up with him during his freshman Thanksgiving) and was then semi-regularly hooking up with that girl who graduated last year (who wanted to try long distance but Daniel did not Feel The Same). Seongwu’s seen Daniel make out with plenty of girls during frat dance parties, even wingmanned a few of those.

They’re best friends, so he’d probably know if Daniel was into guys, right?

Well, if Daniel ever did mention it, Seongwu certainly doesn’t remember because to say he’s a little surprised to find Daniel and Jaehwan making out in the hallway would be an understatement.

Well.

Okay.

Seongwu was starting to wondering where they were tonight, at least.

Seongwu should probably turn around and pretend he didn’t see anyway or just ruin the moment like the little shit he is, because watching your best friend make out with someone is kind of weird, and watching the guy you like make out with someone else is just masochistic, but here Seongwu is, ruining his own life.

Daniel has Jaehwan more or less pressed up against the wall, one hand gently cupping Jaehwan’s jaw and the other on his waist, while Jaehwan has his fingers hooked on the belt loops of Daniel’s black skinny jeans. Daniel’s wearing an outrageous neon green plaid shirt with what can only be described as artsy hot pink and black scribbles on it. Seongwu would normally shit on Jaehwan for making out with a guy wearing such a weird shirt or Daniel for _owning_ it, but he’s got the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his back looks so broad and—

Seongwu thinks he sees tongue.

Fuck.

It’s kind of hot.

He needs to leave. This is weird.

Seongwu is about to turn around when Woojin and Jihoon suddenly come barreling down the hallway, knocking Seongwu into the wall as Woojin lets out one of his signature screeches. Daniel and Jaehwan jump apart, dazed and confused as if they don’t know how they ended up kissing each other. The Parks are long gone, barely having had paid attention to the kissing pair, but now it’s just Seongwu making awkward eye contact with Daniel and Jaehwan looking between Daniel and Seongwu as if he’s just realized something important.

Seongwu hates that he first notices how swollen Daniel’s lips are, how his eyes aren’t fully opened as if he was just waking up from a dream. As he begins to register who Seongwu is, Daniel suddenly sobers up, eyes widening.

“Uh—”

Before Daniel can come up with a coherent response, Seongwu throws him two thumbs up, and slurs out, “Ayy, dude, get it.”

Seongwu stumbles away quickly to the bathroom to puke.

 

Seongwu doesn’t see Daniel for the rest of the night, having run into Minhyun on his way out of the bathroom, promptly been escorted to Jonghyun’s room where a small group were pre-gaming with no game in mind, and then taken an impromptu trip to Hyunbin’s off-campus apartment because Hyunbin insisted he had the best set-up for video games (“Should we see if Daniel wanted to come?” “Uh, I think he’s busy.” “Even for League?”).

If Seongwu is more quiet and distracted than usual, no one comments on it, though he catches Jonghyun and Minhyun’s concerned looks on him more than once.

Daniel’s still not back when he gets back to the room at around 3 AM. Part of Seongwu is glad because he’s not sure he’s entirely ready to pretend things are chill because, at the end of the day, Seongwu can’t stop Daniel from making out with whoever he wants. That’s not what bros do. Still, the uglier part of him wonders bitterly if Daniel is spending the night with Jaehwan as he crashes onto his bed without even changing.

Seongwu wakes up a little later to Daniel’s snoring and blearily glances at his phone. It’s not even five in the morning yet, and naturally he hasn’t exactly had the best rest. The jeans Seongwu fell asleep in feel stiff against his legs, his shirt’s getting hopelessly wrinkled the more he spends on this bed, and his mouth is dry as fuck.

He gets up from bed, joints almost creaking in protest, to shuck off his jeans and shrug off the button-up shirt he has on. He pulls on the pair of Tiros hanging from his bed frame and heads to the bathroom down the hall to drink straight from the tap because he’s hungover and lacking his normal graces right now.

Daniel stirs when he comes back, the light from the hallway spilling in as Seongwu slides back into the room. He doesn’t seem to wake up, so Seongwu slips back under his duvet and turns to face the wall.

“Seongwu?”

Seongwu stops breathing for a second. Maybe if he plays dead (read: pretends to have fallen asleep within three seconds), he won’t have to deal with this.

“I didn’t—” Daniel slurs out some gibberish after that, clearly not exactly awake, but two words come out crystal clear: “I’m sorry.”

It takes over an hour for Seongwu to fall asleep after that.

 

Daniel only lowkey but highkey ghosts him for the next few days after, or as well as someone can ghost you when they live in the same room together and are supposed to be your best friend.

When Seongwu had woken up properly the morning after, Daniel had already gotten up and must have gone to dance practice, and since then, Seongwu has only really seen Daniel in passing. Daniel doesn’t maintain eye contact for long, greetings not going much beyond a careful “Hey”, and leaves Seongwu on read when he texts him even the most innocuous thing.

On Tuesday, Seongwu treats Guanlin to Thai food like a responsible unofficial big since Dongho, Guanlin’s actual big, was too busy with trying to finish his music composition thesis (it’s fine. Guanlin’s a good kid deserving of love and affection). They spot Daniel coming in just a few minutes after as they wait for a table.

“Hey, Daniel!” Guanlin calls out before Seongwu can think to stop him. Daniel looks up from his phone and brightens up when he sees Guanlin, quickly becoming a deer in the headlights when he sees Seongwu standing next to him. Guanlin makes a few long strides toward him, and Seongwu just helplessly follows.

“Uh, hey guys,” Daniel says once they’re close enough. Before Guanlin can think to invite him to join them, Daniel follows up with, “Oh shit, I didn’t realize I have a study group I need to go to.”

“Are you guys fighting?” Guanlin asks, smelling the bullshit from Daniel’s excuse and looking confused as to why someone as jovial as Daniel would suddenly be so awkward around his own best friend.

“No? What would we be fighting about?” Seongwu answers, the words somehow unsure and wrong in his mouth even though it’s technically the truth.

It’s not like Seongwu and Daniel haven’t been busy enough before to go some time without seeing each other, with finals being a thing literally every semester and Seongwu just trying to graduate, but usually Daniel’s still _there_ and showing some sign of life, be it a text or a meme or just being passed out and snoring in his bed when Seongwu comes back to the room at 3 AM. This time, Seongwu’s not even sure if Daniel’s been sleeping in their room the past few days.

The worst thing is, Seongwu doesn’t entirely know why this is happening. Sure, Seongwu had caught Daniel and Jaehwan making out, but he hadn’t held it against Daniel or gotten angry. If Seongwu feels like shit about it, it’s because of his own issues. Daniel’s just having fun, kissing whoever he wants like he’s allowed to.

Why would Daniel say sorry to _him_?

 

There’s a text on Seongwu’s phone that says “have you eaten yet?” that he hasn’t sent and probably won’t, spacing out in the dining hall and waiting in line for the stir fry station. Seongwu can’t believe he’s having difficulty sending a text for food to his best friend.

Instead, Seongwu messages Minhyun.

> **ongcheongie** _5:23 PM_  
>  [ image attached ]  
>  friendship ended with daniel  
>  minhyun is my new best friend
> 
> **optimushwang** _5:26 PM_  
>  seongwu you can’t just deflect your issues with memes
> 
> **ongcheongie** _5:27 PM_  
>  i spent a lot of time trying to make that on my phone
> 
> **optimushwang** _5:31 PM_  
>  just talk to daniel okay?  
>  i don’t know what issue you guys are having  
>  but surely it’s not worth losing your best friend over

Leave it to Minhyun to be completely reasonable even without context. Maybe Seongwu should have texted Guanlin. Guanlin would have appreciated his humor.

Seongwu deletes the text draft and moves to grab his stir fry once his number is called so he can eat in solitude and anguished peace or something equally pitiful.

Of course, the universe has other plans for him because Jisung decides to sit in front of him exactly three minutes after, right before Seongwu almost chokes on an unusually large piece of broccoli.

Jisung slides over a cup of water, which Seongwu accepts graciously.

“Sorry for startling you,” Jisung apologizes as Seongwu’s coughing dies down, though there’s hints of an amused smile on his lips.

“N-no problem, hyung,” Seongwu manages to get out before clearing his throat, air pipes finally clear of rogue vegetables. “What’s up?”

“Your roommate has been sulking on my couch for the past few days.” Seongwu winces. Jisung’s voice might not be accusatory, but the observation stings enough on its own.

“I—” Seongwu wishes he could explain, but honestly he really can’t.

“I know I asked you to be kind of him, but I didn’t realize he would be this _dumb_ ,” Jisung continues. While oddly comforting, it does little to clarify any of Seongwu’s confusion. “Just give him a little more time to be an idiot. He’ll be back soon.”

“Uh,” Seongwu replies intelligently. “Okay, hyung.”

Jisung offers Seongwu a comforting smile as he digs into his salad. Seongwu gives one back, still a little uneasy, but feeling slightly comforted by Jisung’s words.

 

The end of the semester looms closer and closer, and while that means finally getting to go home for the holidays, it also means the panic from looming deadlines compounded by procrastination starts to settle in.

That said, traditions are traditions, and that means Seongwu has to emerge from his corner of the library, where he’s been attempting to learn a whole semester of Korean War History in a weekend, to bond with the house during Lock In.

Even if it’s a bit of a time suck, Seongwu likes Lock In. Sure, it’s a glorified sleep over, where all the brothers are “locked in” the house for 24 hours to promote peak bonding and brotherhood and stuff—but it’s one of those rare nights where people talk about deeper shit, like insecurities and life goals and the future. Seongwu remembers his first Lock In during freshman year fondly, particularly sobbing, half-sober, about his fear of dying alone into the shoulder of his big, Jinyoung Park (not to be confused with Jinyoung “The Asiansoul” Park, former keg stand record holder). It was cathartic, and he doubts he would have gotten nearly as close with his big without the vulnerability of that night.

For Daniel’s first Lock In, Seongwu remembers they’d somehow made it onto the roof, having clambered out the window of the president’s room (probably not the smartest idea, given how drunk they were). It had been Daniel’s idea, mentioning that Sungwoon highly recommended it, and Seongwu was the person he wanted to do it with. It’d been November then, basically winter already, but they’d still done it because why not?

It’d been warmer than usual for the time of year, or maybe they’d just had liquor jackets on, warmed by the shots of rum they’d taken that night. Seongwu had always wanted to go stargazing, and that night, it was almost as if all the constellations had come to greet him and Daniel, painting the sky like a Van Gogh piece.

Seongwu vaguely remembers talking about a lot of things, both light and serious—from Seongwu’s lack of motivation to work out to Daniel’s parents’ recent divorce. It’d been comfortable, their words flowing like they had been friends since childhood instead of the almost two months they had known each other at that point.

“Hey, Seongwu?” Daniel had said, breaking a brief lull in the conversation.

“Yeah?”

“I—I’m glad we met.” Seongwu had turned to look at Daniel, who was already facing toward him, a soft smile on his face. “Thank you for being my friend.”

Something had bloomed in Seongwu’s chest then, and maybe that was the moment, the start of something that took Seongwu two more years to decipher completely.

“Of course, who wouldn’t?”

Seongwu has always appreciated how easy it is to be with Daniel, how easy it is to draw out a laugh from him, to banter about the most inane topics. He never really needs to explain himself when he’s with Daniel because Daniel just _gets_ it, and usually Seongwu gets him too.

Just not now.

He misses Daniel. That much is obvious.

It’s probably the nostalgia of that night two years ago that compels Seongwu to climb out Jonghyun’s window onto the roof, even though it’s more freezing than it had been and he should probably be bonding with people in the living room instead of sulking outside by himself.

Apparently he’s not the only one to think of this.

Seongwu should probably turn back, but he’s already made the physical commitment (which he literally never does) and doesn’t want to crawl away like a coward, so he settles himself down next to Daniel, who only stiffens slightly.

“Hey.” The greeting comes so softly that Seongwu almost thinks he’s imagined it.

“Hey.” A pause. “So, is this where you’re sleeping now instead of our room?” Seongwu keeps his tone light, and Daniel lets out a surprised huff of laughter.

“Ouch. I guess I deserve that.”

Silence.

“In all seriousness, though, is everything okay?” Seongwu finally asks. The unspoken _Did I do something? Why are you avoiding me?_ lingers between them, as it takes Daniel a few moments to find his words. It’s the first time they’ve had a real conversation since that night, but he didn’t think they’d dive in this quickly.

“It’s fine—I’m fine. Just being stupid.”

“You know you can always talk to me if something’s bothering you.”

Daniel doesn’t respond. It’s a normal offer for Seongwu to make, but he realizes belatedly that it doesn’t make much sense if he himself may be located at the epicenter of the problem.

Seongwu figures pressing on the issue will serve them little good, so they just sit there, silent, the crisp near-winter breeze passing by them. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Daniel’s hands fidgeting on his lap, fingers tapping against his thighs. The less sane part of Seongwu’s mind wants to hold his hands in his own to make them stop, but the stronger part of him just puts his hands behind his head as he lies back to look at the stars.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel finally says, after a few minutes of silence. Seongwu doesn’t say anything, though he does sit up to properly face Daniel as his mind echoes back to those very same words Daniel had mumbled out in his sleep about a week ago. Backlit by the light pouring through Jonghyun’s window, Daniel looks tired, an uncharacteristic frown marring his usual bright demeanor. “I shouldn’t have ghosted you with no explanation after I, uh, you know…” Daniel clenches and unclenches his fists, wincing. “...after I made out with Jaehwan because you don’t really deserve that.”

Oh, there it is.

“It’s chill. I’m sure you—” Seongwu starts.

“But it’s not! Our friendship is too important to lose over one dumb mistake.”

 _Then why did you start avoiding me?_ Seongwu doesn’t ask, but the way he frowns probably speaks for him.

“Dude, I’ve seen you make out with plenty of people before. It’s not a big deal. Did you think I was going to disown you because it was Jaehwan?” Seongwu chuckles to lighten the mood, but it sounds off even to his own ears. “Because I know Jaehwan is a little bit of a troll, but I mean he’s pretty cute if you—”

“Hyung.”

Seongwu’s train of thought dies in his throat. They’ve never bothered with honorifics between the two of them, even though Seongwu’s pretty annoying about it with the other Korean underclassmen. That Daniel is using it now must mean something, even if Seongwu’s not sure what.

“Y-yeah?” Seongwu stutters out.

Seongwu can practically hear the wheels churning in Daniel’s head as he chews on his bottom lip, trying to figure out what to say.

“Hyung, do you like me?”

There’s a lump that falls from Seongwu’s throat down to the pit of his stomach, and his hands start to sweat. “I—of course I like you. You’re my best friend,” he answers, though they both know that’s not what Daniel means.

“No, like, _like_ like me.”

Seongwu almost scoffs, incredulous, even though inside he’s panicking because he really doesn’t know what to say. “Are we in third grade? What do you mean _like like_ —”

“Because I’ve liked you since freshman year. I’ve liked you since you tried to teach me and the other pledges how to shotgun a beer and got it all over yourself, and the entire house laughed at you but you were laughing the hardest…And I never thought it’d work out, because we’re best bros and you were always pushing me to make out or dance with other people and I didn’t want to screw what we had because we’re…you know, us. We’re science...but you’ve just been _looking_ at me differently these days, like maybe I have a chance, but then I fucking made out with Jaehwan right in front of your salad for no reason—”

Seongwu lets Daniel word-vomit, riding the crests and valleys of his voice as he stares at Daniel’s face. Daniel can barely meet his eyes, gaze more focused on his hands clenched in his lap. Seongwu has only half processed what he’s saying, brain having short-circuited after the first sentence, because Daniel’s liked him for two whole years and _wow_ are they dumb.

The distance between them is short, and Daniel’s lips are soft against his.

Understandably, Daniel stops rambling, maybe even stops breathing for a few seconds. If Daniel hadn’t literally just confessed to him a few minutes ago, Seongwu would be concerned that he’d misread the situation. But Daniel rests his hand on Seongwu’s cheek and kisses him back, harder.

A shiver travels up Seongwu’s spine as he gasps, which Daniel swallows up immediately to deepen the kiss. There’s desperation in the way that Daniel’s lips slide against his, like this is the only chance he’ll get to do this before Seongwu suddenly disappears, and it makes Seongwu feel almost dizzy, to feel so _wanted_ like this. Seongwu grabs at Daniel’s sweatshirt to bring him closer and then revels in the way that Daniel manhandles him into his lap, revels in the warmth of his embrace.

“Hey, Daniel?” Seongwu breathes out when they finally pull apart, foreheads almost touching.

“Yeah?” Daniel sounds as dazed as Seongwu feels, and fuck, he could used to making Daniel look like this.

“I really like you, too.”

Daniel smiles, brighter than a ray of sunshine in the middle of the night, and kisses him again.

 

They eventually start making their way back to the rest of the group, returning to the ruckus of the night. At some point, there are going to be activities in the president’s room, so they should probably clear off the roof before anyone suspects anything.

Daniel has his arm wrapped around Seongwu’s shoulders and Seongwu’s got his around Daniel’s waist. It’s not an unusual sight, aside from their noses nipped pink from the cold and their hair disheveled by the wind.

They’re laughing about something dumb as they walk down the hallway when they bump into Daehwi and Guanlin, chatting outside the bathroom about some bio class.

Guanlin sees their current positions and perks up. “You guys made up?”

Daehwi narrows his eyes and scrutinizes them, eyes flitting back and forth between Daniel and Seongwu.

“You guys made _out_?” Daehwi asks. Guanlin and Daniel’s eyebrows shoot up.

“How did he—” Daniel starts.

Seongwu just laughs and leads him downstairs.

 

It’s about 4 AM when Seongwu and Daniel finally settle into their room after the night’s main shenanigans had ended. Seongwu can hear murmurs of the few stragglers still in the living room. Normally he’d be among them, but he really needs to sleep if he wants to have any hope with his Korean War History class.

Seongwu quickly changes into an oversized t-shirt and sweats before diving into his bed, trying to avoid the cold because heating in the frat house has never been the best.

“Move over,” Seongwu hears before Daniel slides under the covers with him. Seongwu almost protests even though he still shifts over—the last time they had tried to share a twin-sized bed, Seongwu had been crushed hopelessly against the wall because Daniel’s shoulders were just too broad. Daniel pulls him closer to him before he can say anything, and while the fit is still tight, Seongwu can’t find it in himself to complain.

Daniel’s face is mere centimeters from his own now. Seongwu can just make it out in the darkness of their room, but his face still heats up.

“Hey,” Daniel says, a loopy grin on his face.

“Hey, you,” Seongwu shoots back, smile probably just as silly as Daniel’s

When he kisses him goodnight, Daniel tastes mainly like spearmint toothpaste with just a hint of beer, and while it should probably be gross, Seongwu wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
